Tuesday, June 19, 2012

If Kunal Nayyar Likes Milky Way Ice Cream Bars ...

With tomorrow being the official start of summer, I thought it would be a great time to talk about ice cream bars and Kunal Nayyar, who stars on one of my favorite TV shows, The Big Bang Theory.

A couple of weeks ago, Milky Way launched its new ice cream bar in a super-cool way. They brought a mod ice cream truck down to the California Science Center and gave out Milky Way Ice Cream Bars to no-doubt ice-cream-hungry fans. Kunal joined the party and indulged in some sweet treats himself.

While CC and I weren't able to make it (I was at work), I still got the chance to talk to Kunal over the phone.

Check out what he had to say about ice cream, his show and getting girls to like science! And, in case you're wondering, he doesn't really sound like Raj Koothrappali. (Bummer.)

L.A. Story: What brought you to Milky Way?Kunal Nayyar: They called me, and of course it makes sense because it's called Milky Way, and I play an astrophysicist on television.And I came down, I tried this ice cream bar, and I loved it right away.

L.A. Story: As far as your show, do you have to hone your science skills for your character, or are you just acting, playing a part?Kunal Nayyar: Yeah, I mean of course I'm playing a part. I can't even pretend to be as smart as my character because he has a PhD in astrophysics.

L.A. Story: And he has a very big desk!Kunal Nayyar: He does have a very Brobdingnagian desk. But sometimes we'll be saying stuff and we won't get it, but we have a science consultant, who's a real professor at UCLA, so we ask him a bunch of questions.

L.A. Story: There are lots of smart female characters on The Big Bang Theory. What do you think are some ways to help show girls that science is a great path?Kunal Nayyar: That's a good question. What do young girls like to do? They like to listen to music -- maybe if there's a boy band full of nerds?

L.A. Story: Did you do science projects when you were in school?

Kunal Nayyar: Growing up mainly in India, in school, we had science projects, but we never had to dissect anything, which is really good. I was never a big science guy. I liked math, I liked numbers, I was a math guy but I never liked science that much. I liked English literature and math, but science always puzzled me.

L.A. Story: If you had family in town with kids, where would you take them in L.A.?